


Falling for Yew

by StarshipHufflebadger



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Blood, F/M, Fluff, Reader Insert, Some injuries, Soulmate AU, Super cheesy ending, Swearing, Tattoos, cute though, like... you'll get cavities, pun-tacular title, seriously, soulmate thing, super fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 04:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16256660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarshipHufflebadger/pseuds/StarshipHufflebadger
Summary: Soulmate AU where Reader is having a really crappy day and (unknowingly) meets her soulmate because of it.  Fluffy cuteness, mostly.





	Falling for Yew

* * * * * *   

 

             You knew it was a bad idea.

 

              You were a botanist, not an engineer.  Your specialization was plants, not electrical wiring.  Not computer programming.  Plants.

 

              And yet – you did it anyway.

 

              High up on a ladder, attempting to rewire the sprinkler system for your rows and rows of seedlings.  It had been on the fritz for a week, and because you could technically just manually water the plants when your sprinklers were not working, engineering had classed your work order as low priority and as such had not gotten to it yet.

 

              But you were tired of waiting.  Watering thousands of seedlings by hand took far too much time out of your already busy day, and you were getting beyond annoyed with the task.  So, you had decided that it couldn’t be  _that_  hard to fix… maybe there was a loose connection that just needed to be shoved back into place, or maybe there was some other simple solution.  It wouldn’t hurt to look, at least – or so you thought.

 

              So you’d climbed up on the ladder, high above your rows of seedlings.  You located the electrical box where the wires for the sprinkler system converged, and flipped open the front panel.  You stared blankly at the jumble of wires that greeted you, quickly realizing that any notion of fixing this yourself had been foolish.   You had no clue where any of the wires went or what their functions were, and you were worried that if you messed with it, you’d screw it up even worse.

 

              Still, you wondered if there was maybe something that would start making sense to you as you peered into the mess.  You noticed that there was a wire that appeared to be loose, not sitting in its proper circuit (or whatever it was called – how would you know?).  Taking a chance, you reached up and took hold of the wire in question and push it back towards where you thought it should go, holding your breath.  

 

              Instead of sliding back into place, there was a slight buzzing sound and a sudden flash of light;  you yelped as a spark shot out of the wire and you felt a sharp  _zap_  against your fingers.  You immediately let go of the wire, your body jerking in surprise from the jolt of electricity, which you realized too late had compromised your balance on top of the ladder.   You teetered precariously in place for a moment, desperately trying to keep your balance, but it was too late.

 

              You let out a scream as you toppled sideways off the ladder, landing hard on the counter below you.  You landed on a tray of your seedlings plus a bunch of garden tools, sending a searing pain through your lower side as you crashed down on them.   Your momentum carried you off of the counter entirely, dropping you to the floor like a sack of bricks where you landed with a loud grunt as the wind whooshed out of your lungs.  Garden tools, small flower pots and soil rained down on you from above as you gasped for breath.

 

              Finally everything had stopped moving and you lay on your back on the ground, groaning.  You were completely winded, there was a fiery pain at your side, and you’d whacked your head on the ground, so you were also seeing stars.  You craned your neck around with some difficulty and looked down as you put a hand to your side;  as you drew your fingers away, you could see they were coated with blood.

 

              “Great,” you groaned, letting your head fall back, wincing in pain.  You were bleeding quite a lot, and you pressed your hand to the wound, trying to staunch the blood.  What a predicament you’d gotten yourself into.  With your free hand, you felt around for your comm, finally locating it after nearly a minute of groping around the ground with your non-dominant hand.

 

              You clumsily managed to open the device and hit the emergency button for the medic team, knowing they’d find you in a few minutes. Just as you were putting the comm back into your pocket, you heard a sputtering sound above you.

 

              “Oh for… don’t you  _dare_ -” you began, and sure enough, a moment later the sprinklers burst into life.   In barely 30 seconds the dirt on your skin had turned to mud, your blue tunic starting to suction to your body, your hair starting to flatten to your head.

 

              “Just fucking perfect,” you muttered, shivering as you continued to hold your hand to your wound, sighing heavily.

 

              By the time the medics got there a few minutes later, you were completely soaked, lying there in the cold and wet, in a great deal of pain and feeling pretty damn miserable.  They hurried you out of the greenhouse and onto a stretcher, and though you were glad to be out of the sprinklers, moving hurt like a bitch and you were not happy as they lay you down, moaning and clutching at your wound as it continued to bleed.

 

              They gave you a towel and you wiped your face with your free hand, getting a bit of the mud off, though there were still large streaks of it around the edges of your face and across your cheeks.  Giving up, you let your head rest down on the bed as they hovered you into the turbolift and then towards the med bay, hoping whoever was going to tend to you had some good painkillers handy.

 

              Before you knew it they’d maneuvered you into an exam room and a light above you was flicked on, momentarily blinding you.  A wordless protest left your lips as you squeezed your eyes shut, and by the time you’d opened them, there was a man standing over you, wearing a light grey hospital tunic and looking a little disconcerted by your appearance.

 

              “I’m Dr. McCoy,” he said, reaching out to touch something on the monitor above your head.  “Can you tell me what happened?”

 

              “Fell off a ladder,” you replied shortly, still blinking in the bright light.  “Landed on some equipment and hit my head on the floor.”   Dr. McCoy nodded, glancing at your monitor again.

 

              “In the botany department.  Ah, that explains the mud,” he said, more to himself than to you, though you squinted at him, not sure if he was joking or not.

 

              “Head of the Botany Department, actually,” you corrected him, then groaned as your abdomen gave a particularly painful twinge.

 

              “I stand corrected,” he said, and you could detect a hint of amusement in his tone.  You could only imagine how grumpy you sounded, but you didn’t care at the moment. You were in far too much pain to care about being polite, and you were admittedly a bit embarrassed to be wet and covered in mud in the middle of the pristine med bay.

 

              “Can I take a look at your side?” he asked, and you nodded reluctantly, though you didn’t move your hand.   Undeterred, Dr. McCoy gently pulled your hand away from your wound, revealing a ripped and bloodstained tunic beneath.  

 

              Your head tipped back and you cried out softly in pain as he carefully peeled your tunic back, exposing the wound along with your entire lower torso, including your soulmate tattoo.  All of your attention was on the burning feeling of your wound, however, and you had little awareness of anything else.

 

              Leonard, on the other hand, had been struck dumb.  So far this had been a relatively normal procedure, but as he had peeled back her shirt to examine the bloody wound, his eyes had been caught by something other than the gash there.  

 

              Her tattoo, though in a different place than his, was an intimately familiar sight.  He stared at it in shock for many long seconds, his brain activity screeching to a halt as he stood there, frozen, barely able to believe what he saw.   It was obvious that the tattoo, even covered in blood from the neighbouring wound, was a dead ringer for the one he’d had on his side since he’d hit puberty.   When several seconds had passed and he still hadn’t moved or done anything, the patient lifted her head slightly, forcing her eyes open.

 

              “Aren’t you going to do something to it?” she asked, her voice thick with pain and confusion. “What?”   She’d clearly just seen the stunned look on his face, and to his dismay, taken it completely the wrong way.  “Is there something wrong?  Am I going to die?”  she asked, her tone getting more frantic with each word.

 

              “Oh! No!” Leonard snapped back to reality as his brain went from nothing into overdrive, his head reeling as his thoughts caught up with the circumstances.  “No, sorry.  Nothing like that.”  

 

              He nearly burst out the words ‘ _Apparently you’re my soulmate_ ’ but managed to stop himself; now, while she was lying here, covered in mud, bleeding on his table with multiple injuries, was  _not_  the place to bring it up.  

 

              “I’m going to give you some painkillers before I deal with this, okay?” he said, watching her face as it scrunched up in pain just from a bit of movement.

 

              “Oh god yes, please…” she groaned, and he smiled slightly as he prepped a hypo.  Quickly he retrieved a wet cloth, wiped a spot on her neck clean of any dirt and then injected the pain meds.  She jumped as the hypo penetrated her skin but sagged with relief almost immediately afterwards.

 

              “Better?” Leonard asked, and she nodded, her eyes slipping closed.

 

              “Much better,” she breathed, and Leonard watched her body relax as the pain faded away.  Smiling, he cleaned up her wound without much fuss and then examined it, determined that it wasn’t as deep as it seemed and decided to just close it with steri strips.   As he moved to her head, he noticed she’d fallen asleep, though she stirred as he gently wiped the blood and dirt away from the cut on her forehead.

 

              “How’s it lookin’, doctor?” she asked groggily as he cleaned her forehead wound, prompting a soft hiss of discomfort from her.

 

              “You’ll be good as new before you know it,” Leonard replied, watching her face as she smiled slightly and closed her eyes again. He could already feel fondness welling up inside him for her, though this was really the first time he’d ever seen her, and the feeling amazed him.  He resisted the urge to stroke her hair and busied himself with carefully bandaging her forehead and then her stomach, the bandage not quite touching her tattoo.  Seeing that she was still out of it, he gently brushed his fingers across her tattoo, as though to show himself that it was real and he wasn’t imagining it.  

 

              Shaking himself, he retrieved Christine and told her to help you get completely cleaned up and into a gown, as he’d like to keep you overnight for observation.  She did as she was told, and a while later reported to Leonard that you were sleeping peacefully in a small private room.  She had an odd smile on her face as she spoke, but Leonard shrugged it off, his head too full of thoughts to wonder about her behaviour.

 

              You were released the next day by Christine and told to come back in a few days, Leonard avoiding your room while you were awake.   Knowing what he did, Leonard felt awkward and weirdly shy, and had no idea how to broach the subject, so he avoided it for now.  He swore to himself he’d tell you eventually – just once he’d figured out how.

 

              A few days later you came back for your follow up as scheduled, only to have Dr. M’Benga and Christine come into the room, rather than Leonard.

 

              “Where’s Dr. McCoy?” you asked, feeling slightly disappointed.  You knew you’d been pretty out of it the day of your accident, but you’d liked the doctor; he was cute and had seemed quite nice.

 

              “Hiding in his office,” said Christine, before she could stop herself.  M’Benga shot her a look and she shut her mouth, though she looked like she was about to laugh.  You stared at her, then looked questioningly at M’Benga, who shook his head.

 

              “Dr. McCoy is indisposed at the moment and asked me to take care of you,” he said, smiling warmly.  “And I’m happy to report that your wound is healing wonderfully, so you’re free to go.”

 

              “Er, thanks…” You said, still confused and definitely feeling like you were missing something.  Shrugging it off, you returned to your duties,  studiously avoiding ever using the ladder.

* * * * * * 

 

              A week or so later, you delivered some flowers to the med bay for their front desk, something to liven up the atmosphere a bit and to thank them for their help with your injury.  A nurse you didn’t know took the flowers with warm thanks, and you wandered off, feeling happy that you’d found a way to give something back to them.   You had no idea that Leonard was watching you from the corner of the med bay, anxiously mulling over his thoughts.

 

              “So have you told her yet?” Christine asked, appearing suddenly at his side, making him jump and nearly scaring the daylights out of him.

 

              “Christ, Christine… don’t do that,” he grumped at her, unhappy to be caught off guard in his own med bay.  Christine grinned and leaned against the same counter he was leaning on, gesturing after your retreating person.

 

              “Did you tell her yet?” she asked again, expectantly. Leonard frowned.

              “Told her what, exactly?”  Leonard asked, trying to sound as though he had nothing to hide. How could she possibly know?  She must be talking about something else.

 

              “Leonard, I’m not stupid,” Christine said flatly.  “I helped her get dressed, remember?  I saw her tattoo, and I know what yours looks like.”   Leonard’s eyes widened slightly as he realized that all of what she said was perfectly true.  

 

              “Okay, so you know,” he said evasively, looking away from her as she continued to look expectant.   He hadn’t expected her to know, but he could deal with that.  What he was not looking forward to was the inevitable lecture he was about to get, which he had to admit deep down he may deserve.

 

              “So, she needs to know,” Christine told him sternly. “Why didn’t you tell her yet?”

 

              “Well, I—she was injured!” he protested, stalling. “I wasn’t exactly going to bring it up while I was wiping blood off of her!”

 

              “No,” agreed Christine.  “But what about the next day? Or at her follow up?  I know you were hiding, that’s why you got M’Benga to see her instead.”

 

              “What’s your point?” Leonard asked after an extended pause, feeling somewhat desperate.  “What do you want me to do?”

 

              “ _Tell_  her,” Christine said emphatically, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.  She frowned slightly as she saw anxiety flash in Leonard’s eyes, and realized he wasn’t just being a coward – he was truly worried or nervous.

 

              “What’s wrong?” Christine asked instead, her voice softening.  “Why are you worried about this?”  Leonard dropped his gaze to the floor, then glanced at Christine briefly before dropping his gaze once more.   Christine always gave him a hard time, but he knew she wouldn’t make fun of him if he was honest with her now.

 

              “I, well…” he hesitated, then sighed.  “I mean, she’s my  _soulmate_.” He said, nearly choking on the word.  It was the first time he’d said it out loud in a very long time, and now that the word had meaning, it was almost scary to say.  

              “Yes, and…?” Christine urged, trying to get him to keep talking.

 

              “And…” he flushed slightly, refusing to look up. He felt like a schoolboy, worrying about this, but it was very real to him in this moment and he couldn’t help it.   “What if… what if she doesn’t like me?”    Christine resisted the urge to giggle at the question because she could see it was genuinely worrying him.  She reached out and gripped his arm, smiling.

 

              “Leonard, you’re one of the most caring, smartest, funniest people I know.  If she doesn’t like you, I’ll eat my hat.”

 

              “You don’t have a hat,” Leonard pointed out.

 

              “Whatever, you know what I meant,” Christine said, waving away his comment.  “The point is, of  _course_  she’ll like you. You’re great.”   Leonard smiled slowly, glanced up at her and meeting her eyes.

 

              “Thanks, Chris,” Leonard said, bumping his shoulder against hers.  “I appreciate it.”

 

              “Good, now forget I ever said you were great,” Christine said, winking at him.  “Now, she’s due back here in a week for a physical.  Mull it over until then if you want, but make sure you tell her then.  Got it?”

 

              “Okay,” Leonard agreed.  It was a reasonable request, and he took a deep breath as Christine walked away, trying to pump himself up for the week to come.

 

* * * * * *

 

              It seemed to come impossibly fast, but before Leonard knew it, the day of your physical had come.  Christine appeared in his office halfway through his shift, and he knew you were there before she’d even opened her mouth by the expression on her face.

 

              “She’s on bed four,” Christine told him, smiling. “You’re going to do it now, right?” Leonard sighed, feeling his heart clench a bit.  

 

              “Yeah, I guess,” he said, still trying to convince himself.  Christine’s expression suddenly became stern again, and she pointed at him.

 

              “If you don’t tell her,  _I_ will,” she told him threateningly.  “The girl deserves to know!”

 

              “Alright, alright,” Leonard groused, grumbling. Christine smiled at him, and he knew that even if he chickened out she wouldn’t tell on him – but she was right. Plus, he wanted you to know – then you’d be able to start getting to know each other and maybe form some kind of relationship.

 

              “Good luck,” Christine said, as Leonard took a deep breath and left his office.  “You’ll be fine!”

 

              You were sitting in the bed in cubicle four, yawning, as you’d just woken up.  You were just telling yourself to make the appointment for a bit later in the day next time when you heard footsteps approaching.   You looked up as Leonard entered the room and smiled at him, happy to see he was actually here this time.

 

              “Hello,” he said, and you noticed an awkward tone to his voice, wondering what that was about.

 

              “Hi,” you replied.  “I guess you’re doing my physical, then?”  There was a pause as he seemed to think about his next words, and then he shook his head.

 

              “No, Dr. M’Benga will be taking over for me,” he answered, and you let your shoulders drop a bit, somewhat disappointed.

 

              “Oh, alright,” you said, frowning slightly. Did he just not like you?  Why was he avoiding you like this?  You specifically remembered when booking your appointment, the confirmation message said Dr. McCoy, so why…?

 

              “But before I go… I wanted to talk to you about that day… the day you came in with that injury.”  Leonard’s voice still carried that awkward quality, but you shrugged it off, trying to keep the mood light.  You smiled slightly as you answered, putting a hand to your belly.

 

              “Oh yeah, worst day ever,” you said, somewhat jokingly. “The day I tried to rewire the sprinklers, despite having not an ounce of engineering training.”

 

              “I—Wait, what?” he asked, distracted.

 

              “Though, to be fair, I  _did_  actually fix the sprinklers, so… I guess that counts as a win overall?” you mused, chuckling slightly.  Leonard stared at you, and you got the feeling he was torn between whatever he had been about to say and questioning you further.  

 

              “Sorry, I interrupted you,” you said, shaking your head and giving him an apologetic smile.  “What were you going to say?  The day of my fall, worst day ever, go on.”

 

              “I, yeah, um…” Leonard faltered, clearly thrown off by your interjection.  “Well, when I was patching you up, I saw… well, I noticed, on your stomach, um…” he hesitated, and you frowned, your hand slipping over your stomach.

 

              “What about it?” You asked, starting to become concerned.  “Is something wrong…?”  You slip your hand under your blue tunic and pull it up, revealing your healing wound and your soulmate tattoo but nothing else.  You barely notice the tattoo as you scan your skin, looking for unusual marks or anything else that might have caught his attention.

 

              “Yes, that,” he replied, then looked furious at himself as words escaped him once again.  “It wasn’t the worst day ever, for me, at least…” What was  _wrong_  with him, he wondered.  Just  _say it_.  

 

              He was silent for another few seconds while you stared at him, not understanding his hesitation, glancing back down at your stomach as he stared at it.

 

              “What are you trying to say?” You finally asked, tired of the confusion and getting a bit freaked out by his lack of coherence.  

 

              Finally, Leonard gave up with his words and decided the only way he was going to get his point across without sounding like an idiot was just to show you.  Silently, he turned his side towards you and slowly pulled up the side of his tunic, exposing his skin.  You watched, your brows creased in confusion as he slowly pulled up his shirt, wondering what the hell he was doing.

 

              “What are you-” you began to ask, but then you realized that as the fabric moved up over his ribs, his soulmate tattoo was exposed, and your breath caught in your throat.  “Oh...”

 

                He pulled the shirt all the way up to his armpit, and you could see, over the side of his ribs, the same tattoo you saw in the mirror every day of your life since you were eleven.  Your hand unconsciously settled over your own tattoo as you stared, your mouth falling open slightly, taking in the sight of the design over his ribs.  You looked down at yours, then up at his, then back at your own, your heart pounding faster by the moment.

 

              “C-come closer,” you managed after a moment, and he shuffled closer until he was within arm’s reach.  You looked closely at the tattoo and then, hesitantly, reached out a hand to touch it.  He jumped slightly as your cool fingers slid over the surface of his skin, your touch feather-light, but he didn’t protest, not even as goosebumps broke out over his arms.

 

              “I… wow,” you said, dumbfounded, as he pulled his shirt back down and looked down at you.  You really didn’t know what to say, and it seemed neither did he.  You looked up and caught his eyes;  though still clearly nervous, they held warmth and a curiosity you were sure would be mirrored in yours as soon as you got over your shock.

 

              “Yeah,” he said, letting out a small laugh.  “I guess I’m your soulmate.”

 

              “I guess you are,” you replied, still stunned.  You pause, eyeing him, then smile a little mischievously.  “And do I just call you Dr. McCoy, or…?”  Leonard laughed, and you suspected you were seeing the first genuine smile he’d given you; it lit up his eyes and gave them an adorable crinkle that made your heart skip a beat.

 

              “Right, sorry, I’m Leonard,” he said, “and you’re Y/N.”

 

              “Guilty as charged,” you say, and he nods, smiling a bit still and looking down at his PADD.

 

              “Well, I better let M’Benga start with your physical, or we’ll be behind,” Leonard said reluctantly, and it suddenly dawned on you why he was bowing out from being the one to examine you.

 

              “Ohh, right,” you said, and he nodded regretfully. “Well…” you trailed off a bit, and when you spoke again, your voice was shy. “I don’t have to wait until my next medical emergency to see you, do I?”

 

              You looked up to see a flash of something in his eyes; excitement, or perhaps just happiness, as he looked back at you.  He reached out, spontaneously, and gently put a hand to your cheek, giving it a gentle caress.  You pressed your cheek into his hand, responding to his touch, and he smiled as he pulled his hand away.

 

              “Of course not. Would you like to have dinner tonight? We can take a stroll around the observation deck afterwards.”  He seemed a little nervous asking you, and it reminded you of a nervous high-schooler asking their date to prom.  It was incredibly endearing, and you grinned in response.

 

              “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” you told him, reaching for his hand and squeezing it briefly. He nodded, pleased, squeezed your hand back and then headed for the exit.  

 

              “Oh, and Leonard?” He turned back as you spoke, looking over expectantly.  “I was wrong.”  He tilted his head to the side questioningly, and was about to open his mouth to ask why when you continued.

 

              “That day was definitely  _not_  the worst day ever, after all.

 

* * * * * *

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment! You make my day with your words! <3


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